The focus of my pottery is to strike a balance between beauty and function. I aim to create rich and complex surfaces through a combination of wax resist marks and glaze layering. This multilayered glaze application creates a deep visual experience as well as a tactile one. I am drawn to work that is practical and extravagant. Making the work begins on the wheel with elegant yet simple porcelain forms that act as a canvas for glaze decoration. The incorporation of new ideas and their evolution is gradual and organic. Shifts in my work tend to happen slowly over many making cycles rather than all at once.
I am influenced by everything I see, from nature to architecture, textiles, masonry, trim work, and beyond. My influences are both traditional and contemporary, with a strong inspiration from Asian pottery in form as well materials.
Born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, nature has always been a theme in my life. It was when I attended college at West Virginia University that my clay journey began. After receiving a Baccalaureate of Fine Arts degree from WVU, I moved to Floyd, VA where I did a 3-year apprenticeship with renowned ceramic artists Donna Polseno and Richard Hensley. Since 2012 I have been a studio and production potter in a shared studio with my husband Josh Manning and currently am the Studio Technician and Instructor of Ceramics at Hollins University in Roanoke, VA.
I am influenced by everything I see, from nature to architecture, textiles, masonry, trim work, and beyond. My influences are both traditional and contemporary, with a strong inspiration from Asian pottery in form as well materials.
Born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, nature has always been a theme in my life. It was when I attended college at West Virginia University that my clay journey began. After receiving a Baccalaureate of Fine Arts degree from WVU, I moved to Floyd, VA where I did a 3-year apprenticeship with renowned ceramic artists Donna Polseno and Richard Hensley. Since 2012 I have been a studio and production potter in a shared studio with my husband Josh Manning and currently am the Studio Technician and Instructor of Ceramics at Hollins University in Roanoke, VA.